OK, I erred. The PKELLY and standing bear do not have corrosion over the engraving. I would say this was a mid-2oth century addition As was the ramrod, using a 0. 235" steel rod. That is almost exactly 6mm (0.236"). In the USA standard small steel rods would be 6.35mm (0.250"). So the new ramrod was made in Europe, and it does appear that PKELLY and his bear are modern additions.
Right now the lock is partially disassembled in my basement. The rear lock bolt hole has an old bolt broken off in it. There is a new hole drilled and tapped for the current (rear) lock bolt. The stock is not drilled for the old lock bolt hole, but only for the more recent. The lock inlet appears to be cut for this particular lock.
As noted, the barrel is fastened to the stock with pins. There are no barrel bands, as one would expect least on the Model 1728.
The lock is round faced and the barrel half-octagon.
This description fits no standard French musket from 1717 on.
It does look vaguely like the 1680's gun shown on page 35, "The French Trade Gun in North America".
No body but me likes French here. Oh, well.
I did find one, and only one, marking, stamped inside the lock plate. Not clear to me what it is, I will have to experiment with lighting and maybe a smear of black paint to get a decent photo. Stay Tuned.
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